Music lesson scheduling software: a buying guide for teachers and music schools
Last reviewed
The right music lesson scheduling software depends on what you run. A private teacher needs a weekly timetable tied to each student's rate, attendance and invoices. A music school with many teachers and rooms needs room availability, staff permissions and often payroll. This guide covers what to look for, compares Note & Key with My Music Staff, Opus1 and Jackrabbit Music, and states what Note & Key costs.
No card required · Your whole roster for 30 days, then Free keeps one student going · Also on the iPhone App Store and .
What music teacher scheduling software should do
A private studio runs on a weekly rhythm: the same students in the same slots, with the occasional cancellation and makeup. A calendar app can hold those slots, but it does not know which student a lesson belongs to, what that lesson costs, or whether it actually happened.
That is the gap scheduling software for music teachers is meant to close. Before comparing products, check each one against this list:
- Recurring weekly lessons, so a term's timetable is built once rather than re-entered every week.
- Each lesson linked to a student and their rate, so the schedule already knows what it is worth.
- Attendance on every lesson — taught, cancelled, makeup — because that record is what invoices should come from.
- A way for families to see upcoming lessons without texting you.
- Google Calendar import or sync, if that is where your schedule lives today.
Music school scheduling software: what changes with more teachers
Music school scheduling software has a harder job. Once several teachers share rooms, the timetable has to account for room and teacher availability at the same time, and the office usually needs staff permissions, registration forms and payroll as well.
Tools built for larger schools carry more of that administration. Tools built for private teachers tend to go deeper on the lesson itself. Neither is better in general; the question is which side of that line your studio sits on.
Comparison: Note & Key, My Music Staff, Opus1 and Jackrabbit Music
Every statement about another product below comes from that company's own website, listed under Sources and checked on the review date at the top of this page. Where their site does not say, the table says “check their site” rather than guessing. Features and prices change, so confirm with them before you decide.
| Note & Key | My Music Staff | Opus1 | Jackrabbit Music | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Private music teachers; the Studio plan adds unlimited teachers on one schedule | Private teachers and multi-teacher studios | Music and dance schools | Music schools |
| Lesson scheduling | Weekly lesson calendar; two-way Google Calendar sync on Pro | Recurring lessons, calendar sync, online booking through the Student Portal | Family self-booking, drag-and-drop calendar, teacher and room availability | Lesson scheduling and registration |
| Attendance | Taught, cancelled or makeup on every lesson | Yes, including bulk attendance and make-up credits | Check their site | Check their site |
| Billing | Invoices from the lessons you taught; card payments through Stripe; Interac e-Transfer tracking on Pro | Automatic invoices, reminders and late fees; Stripe and PayPal | Automated tuition and invoices; card, ACH, check or cash | Automated billing |
| Family access | One household login for all of a family's children | Student Portal for students and parents | Self-serve payment portal | Parent communication and a family mobile app |
| Practice recordings with timestamped feedback | Yes, on every plan including Free | Check their current plans | Check their site | Check their site |
| Payroll | Not offered | Yes | Listed under teacher management | Pay staff through Jackrabbit Pay |
| Price | Free for 1 student; Pro $12.99 USD / mo or $99 USD / yr; Studio $24.99 USD / mo or $199 USD / yr | Listed on their pricing page; check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
There is a longer, line-by-line comparison with My Music Staff, with a source on every row, at noteandkey.app/compare/my-music-staff.
Which kind of music school timetable software fits you
- You run a school with several teachers, shared rooms and staff on payroll: look first at tools built around school administration, such as Opus1, Jackrabbit Music or My Music Staff. Note & Key does not run payroll.
- You teach privately, or run a small studio, and the hard part is what happens between lessons: Note & Key ties the timetable to practice assignments, student recordings and feedback pinned to the exact moment in a recording, with invoicing from the lessons you taught.
- Your lessons already live in Google Calendar: pick a tool that imports them, so you are not rebuilding the timetable by hand. Note & Key groups recurring events and suggests which student each one belongs to.
What Note & Key costs
- Free: $0, for 1 student, kept indefinitely — scheduling, lesson notes, practice assignments and timestamped feedback included.
- Pro: $12.99 USD / mo or $99 USD / yr (saves 36% vs monthly). One teacher, unlimited students.
- Studio: $24.99 USD / mo or $199 USD / yr (saves 34% vs monthly). Everything in Pro for every teacher in one studio, sharing one schedule.
Every new studio starts with 30 days with everything unlocked, and no card is required. When it ends, nothing is charged; the studio moves to the Free plan unless you subscribe. Full plan details are on the pricing page.
Setting up your weekly timetable in Note & Key
Add students once with their instrument, lesson length and rate. Then build the week, either by hand or by connecting Google Calendar and importing the lessons you already keep there. From then on, marking each lesson as taught, cancelled or a makeup is what feeds invoices and year-end totals — the three steps below.
How it works
- 1Add your students once — instrument, lesson length, and rate — so every lesson you schedule already knows what it's worth.
- 2Build your weekly schedule in Note & Key, or connect Google Calendar to import the lessons you already keep there and keep them in sync.
- 3Mark each lesson completed, cancelled, or a makeup as you go — that attendance record is what later turns into invoices and year-end totals.
Common questions
What is the best music school scheduling software?
It depends on the size of the school. Schools with many teachers, shared rooms and payroll usually need a platform built around school administration, such as Opus1, Jackrabbit Music or My Music Staff. Private teachers and small studios who care most about practice between lessons can use Note & Key, which ties the timetable to assignments, student recordings, timestamped feedback and invoices.
What's the best way to schedule private music lessons?
Keep one schedule that's tied to your students and their rates, rather than a calendar that only shows names. In Note & Key each lesson links to a student, so when you mark it completed it already carries the date and rate — which means your schedule doubles as the source for attendance, invoices, and year-end totals.
How much does Note & Key cost?
Free for 1 student. Pro is $12.99 USD / mo or $99 USD / yr for one teacher with unlimited students, and Studio is $24.99 USD / mo or $199 USD / yr for unlimited teachers sharing one schedule. Every new studio starts with 30 days with everything unlocked, no card required.
Does it work with Google Calendar?
Yes. You can connect Google Calendar, pick which calendar your lessons live on, and import recurring lessons as students. Two-way sync, so you're not maintaining two schedules, is part of Pro.
Can I track attendance and makeups?
Yes. Each lesson can be marked completed, cancelled, or a makeup, and that record drives the rest of the studio — only the lessons you actually taught get invoiced.
Does Note & Key handle payroll for a music school?
No. Note & Key does not run payroll. The Studio plan gives unlimited teachers a shared schedule, but schools that need payroll should look at tools that list it, such as My Music Staff, Opus1 or Jackrabbit Music.
Do students and parents see the schedule?
Families get their own view of their student's lessons, assignments, and invoices through the student/parent portal, so you're not fielding 'when's the next lesson?' texts.
Sources
Free tool
Studio policy generator
Tuition, cancellations, make-up lessons, holidays and withdrawal — a policy you can hand to families.
Open the studio policy generatorFree, no sign-up, nothing you type is uploaded.
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